combust

[ kuhm-buhst ]

/ kəmˈbʌst /

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verb (used with or without object)

to burn.

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Origin of combust

1325–75; Middle English <Latin combūstus (past participle of combūrere to burn up, equivalent to com-com- + -ūs- variant stem of ūrere to burn + -tus past participle suffix; -b- by misanalysis of ambūrere, another derivative, as am- + -būrere)

Words nearby combust

comb jelly, combo, combo store, comb-out, comb-over, combust, combustible, combustion, combustion chamber, combustion engine, combustion tube

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use combust in a sentence

Diesel heaters work by combusting fuel to warm up a heating element.
How to (Safely) Heat a Tent|wsiler|December 23, 2021|Outside Online
Much hotter than that, the shields would fail altogether, and the vehicle would combust in less than a minute.
How close can you get to the sun? Closer than you’d think.|Alessandra Calderin|October 5, 2021|Popular-Science
These fuels all produce carbon dioxide when combusted, whereas burning pure hydrogen in a turbine produces just water vapor.
Cheap renewables could make green hydrogen a practical replacement for fossil fuels|Katie McLean|February 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
When temperatures drop, natural gas is used both directly for furnaces and indirectly to combust and turn into electricity.
The real story behind the Texas power outages|Ula Chrobak|February 18, 2021|Popular-Science

If scrawny little Tutankhamun can do it, a badass like Khufu could probably cause them to spontaneously combust.
Why Do These Russians Hate History So Much?|Justin Green|March 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Then again, Michele Bachmann is rail thin and so tightly wound, she looks ready to spontaneously combust.
Give Chris Christie a Break on His Weight|Michelle Cottle|February 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Most extramarital Hollywood romances fizzle; most Washington ones quickly combust.
A Happy Ending for Tiger?|The Daily Beast|August 25, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Venus and Mercury, when thus 'combust,' lost their influence.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 (of 7)|Geoffrey Chaucer
A planet was said to be combust when its light was extinguished by proximity to the sun.
Astronomical Lore in Chaucer|Florence M. Grimm
When Venus and Mercury were ‘combust’ their influence was lost.
Astronomical Lore in Chaucer|Florence M. Grimm
All astrologers agree that a planet is fortified by this position, but a planet when combust is very evil in its influences.
The Influence of the Stars|Rosa Baughan

British Dictionary definitions for combust

combust

/ (kəmˈbʌst) /

adjective

astrology (of a star or planet) invisible for a period between 24 and 30 days each year due to its proximity to the sun

verb

chem to burn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

combust

Origin of combust

Words nearby combust

Words related to combust

How to use combust in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for combust